Water Pollution

News about Water Pollution, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jul. 31, 2015

Investigation conducted by Associated Press finds dangerously high levels of viruses and bacteria from sewage in venues in Rio de Janeiro where athletes will compete in 2016 Olympic water events. MORE

Jul. 22, 2015

Non-profit group Believe in Syracuse organizes picnic and swim to promote Onondaga Lake, which has reputation for extreme pollution but has now undergone years of cleanup; Environmental Conservation Dept says cleanup is going well, and commissioner Joseph Martens plans to participate in swim, but New York State Health Dept continues to warn people against eating fish from lake. MORE

Jul. 17, 2015

Interior Dept proposes new rule mandating that coal companies test and monitor condition of streams affected by their activities before, during and after mining operations involving mountaintop removal, technique that causes high level of pollution from runoff. MORE

Jul. 1, 2015

Joint report by the World Health Organization and Unicef finds that one in three people worldwide, or some 2.4 billion, live without sanitation facilities; suggest dirty drinking water and open defecation, among other causes, are set to subvert global gains in child survival rates and other health measurements. MORE

Jun. 25, 2015

New park is set to open on grounds of Twin Parks public school complex in Bronx; has numerous features including tree pits and gravel layers that are designed to soak up excess storm water; is part of 20-year, $2.4 billion plan to reduce overflow into local waterways and sewers. MORE

Jun. 23, 2015

Congress is set to vote on bill that would update Toxic Substances Control Act, which falls far short of what is needed to prevent accidents like Elk River chemical spill in West Virginia. MORE

Jun. 9, 2015

Administration of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio urges New Jersey Dept of Environmental Protection to reject $225 pollution settlement negotiated between New Jersey Gov Chris Christie and Exxon Mobile Corp; administration calls settlement, reduced from original request of $8.9 billion, wholly inadequate. MORE

Jun. 6, 2015

Tens of thousands of dead fish have washed ashore along Peconic Estuary on East End of Long Island, die off that was caused by elevated levels of nitrogen in the water leading to large algae blooms; nitrogen exists in water due to rapid growth of population in Suffolk County without accompanying expansion of infrastructure, and outdated septic tanks and cesspools leaks nitrogen-rich sewage. MORE

Jun. 5, 2015

Environmental Protection Agency issues landmark report finding no direct evidence that hydraulic fracturing is harming nation's water supply, though potential exists for contamination; cites several instances in which fracking chemicals found their way into drinking water wells, though cases made up minority. MORE

May. 30, 2015

World Heritage Center and International Union for Conservation of Nature issue report detailing threats to Great Barrier Reef from climate change and human activity, but do not recommend classifying reef as 'in danger'; report criticizes Australian plans to dump dredge soils in waters near reef; recommendations in report will be put to vote at World Heritage Committee. MORE

May. 28, 2015

Pres Obama announces sweeping clean water initiative intended to restore federal government's ability, established under 1972 Clean Water Act, to limit pollution in nation's rivers, lakes and wetlands; legislation, part of Obama's effort to use his executive authority to establish environmental legacy, has come under attack by businesses and property owners. MORE

May. 25, 2015

Editorial asserts General Electric's plan to end cleanup of toxic sludge at bottom of upper Hudson River in Fall 2015 falls short of effort needed to return river to health; urges environmental groups and Gov Andrew Cuomo to pressure General Electric to attend to additional 136 acres recommended by environmental agencies before it removes costly cleanup equipment from river. MORE

May. 23, 2015

Obama administration is expected to announce major clean water regulation that would give federal government ability to limit pollution in nation's waterways; legislation, which is being issued under 1972 Clean Water Act, has drawn complaints from industry and Republicans. MORE

May. 23, 2015

Advocates for clean New York City waterways, like New York City Water Trail Assn, are expecting New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to strengthen regulation on sources of pollution in city's waterways; changes might place goal of having all city waterways 'swimmable' in reach. MORE

May. 22, 2015

Oil spill from broken pipeline near Refugio State Beach on California coast, while serious at 21,000 gallons, does not pose threat as great as 1969 spill that dumped three million gallons of oil in same area; nearly 400 people are involved in round-the-clock cleanup effort at beach. MORE

May. 15, 2015

Duke Energy pleads guilty to criminal violations of the federal Clean Water Act for discharging coal ash and for failing to properly maintain equipment in North Carolina; will pay $102 million in fines and environmental fees. MORE

May. 5, 2015

Study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that households in Bradford County, Pa, had traces of 2-Butoxyethanol or 2BE, compound found in Marcellus Shale drilling fluids. MORE

Apr. 25, 2015

International Sailing Federation threatens to move 2016 Olympic events out of Rio de Janeiro's Guanabara Bay unless floating debris and sewage are removed from water. MORE

Apr. 23, 2015

Profile of Christopher Swain, environmental activist who swam for nearly one hour in Brooklyn's highly polluted Gowanus Canal, which has been designated a Superfund site by the Environmental Protection Agency; Swain hopes to raise awareness of toxic area and help hurry the day when it is truly suited for swimming. MORE

Apr. 19, 2015

Iowa water utility Des Moines Water Works has filed suit against leaders of three counties, seeking to make farmers comply with federal cleanwater standards for nitrate runoff in bid to protect drinking water supply fed by Raccoon River; farmers call suit confrontational approach that hinders progress and discounts voluntary changes being made by farmers. MORE

Apr. 9, 2015

Editorial decries New Jersey Gov Chris Christie's push to settle state's prolonged legal dispute with Exxon Mobil Corp for roughly 3 cents on dollar; observes Exxon remains liable for contaminating vast area of marshlands and waterways; calls on public to exert pressure on Christie to forgo settlement that would yield mere $225 million for environmental damages that state had originally estimated at $8.9 billion. MORE

Apr. 8, 2015

New Jersey State Department of Environmental Protection publishes text of proposed settlement with Exxon Mobil Corporation over pollution of wetlands and marshes at refinery sites in Bayonne and Linden; deal immediately faces criticism from environmental groups and state lawmakers. MORE

Apr. 4, 2015

Duke Energy agrees to $2.5 million settlement with Virginia over coal ash spill in Dan River. MORE

Mar. 20, 2015

New Jersey's $225 settlement with Exxon Mobil over pollution of state's wetlands was reportedly years in the making, with Gov Chris Christie making $325 million settlement offer at private meeting in 2012; seeds of settlement were planted earlier in 2008 with Gov Jon Corzine's offer of $550 million; Gov Chris Christie's final brokered settlement has been widely criticized for falling far short of original $8.9 billion goal. MORE

Mar. 19, 2015

Former Freedom Industries employees Michael Burdette and Robert Reynolds plead guilty to a pollution charge in chemical spill that fouled West Virginia tap water supply in 2014. MORE

Mar. 17, 2015

William Tis and Charles Herzing, two former owners of Freedom Industries, plead guilty to unlawful-discharge violations in connection with 2013 chemical spill in Charleston, SC, that resulted in cutoff of tap water for hundreds of thousands of residents. MORE

Mar. 17, 2015

New Jersey Senate approves resolution urging judge to reject proposed $225 million settlement in pollution lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corp case, saying amount is inadequate; also approves bill that would prevent Gov Chris Christie from directing as much money from environmental settlements into state's general fund. MORE

Mar. 11, 2015

North Carolina fines Duke Energy $25.1 million for contamination of groundwater by its Sutton Plant near Wilmington; state says it is pursuing much larger action against company for spill of millions of gallons of coal ash from plant on Dan River near Virginia border. MORE

Mar. 11, 2015

New Jersey Gov Chris Christie, at town-hall-style meeting in Somerville, NJ, defends decision to settle 2004 pollution lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corp for $225 million, fraction of what was originally sought; lawmakers and environmental advocates vow to block settlement, saying Christie is eager for money to help prop up state budget. MORE

Mar. 6, 2015

Administration of New Jersey Gov Chris Christie releases details related to $225 million settlement with Exxon Mobile Corporation in $8.9 billion lawsuit over pollution of New Jersey wetlands; deal, bringing fraction of cost needed for cleanup, has been widely criticized, but state officials have praised deal. MORE

Mar. 6, 2015

Editorial scores New Jersey Gov Chris Christie for negotiating $250 million settlement with Exxon Mobil Corporation in 10-year, $8.9 billion lawsuit brought by state against corporation for its contamination of 1,500 acres of wetland; asserts that settlement amounts to colossal giveaway that does little to clean up environment and is engineered to promote Christie's interests; urges state legislators to block deal. MORE

Mar. 5, 2015

Bradley M Campbell, former commissioner of New Jersey's Dept of Environmental Protection, accuses Gov Chris Christie's administration of pushing for a drastically reduced settlement with Exxon Mobil over decades of environmental contamination in state; says Christie's chief counsel, Christopher S Porrino, aggressively inserted himself in case, leading to $250 million settlement of an $8.9 billion claim. MORE

Mar. 3, 2015

New Jersey State lawmakers discover obscure provision in law that could allow Gov Chris Christie to use most if not all of proposed $250 million settlement against Exxon Mobil Corp, which was sued over its spilled pipelines and explosions that contaminated wetlands and waters, toward balancing state budget; lawmakers attempt to revise law so that money goes toward restoring environmental damage, but Christie vetoes effort. MORE

Feb. 28, 2015

Exxon Mobil Corp and New Jersey quietly reach $250 million settlement to end protracted legal battle in which state was seeking $8.9 billion in damages from oil giant for contamination of 1,500 acres of wetlands. MORE

Feb. 25, 2015

Tokyo Electric Power Company admits it has not stopped reported leak of radioactive water into Pacific Ocean from ruined Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant since discovery of issue in May 2014; plant was destroyed when a triple meltdown occurred after 2011 earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. MORE

Feb. 21, 2015

Federal prosecutors accuse Duke Energy of violating the federal Clean Water Act in 2014 coal ash into North Carolina's Dan River; coal ash in toxic to humans and wildlife. MORE

Feb. 17, 2015

Link between high concentration of cancer in particular population and environmental pollutants can be hard for lawyers and scientists to prove; case of soldiers exposed to contaminants in their drinking water at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina between 1950s and 1986, many of whom developed cancer decades later, illustrates difficulty. MORE

Jan. 27, 2015

Jennifer McIntyre study in journal Chemosphere finds that filtering toxic storm runoff water through dirt can help remove toxins harmful to aquatic life. MORE

Jan. 23, 2015

Initial tests in Glendive, Montana show water that is free of benzene, carcinogenic component of oil that had been released during spill of crude oil from Bridger Pipeline conduit; if confirmed, tests mean that residents will be able to drink tap water for first time since 40,000 gallons of oil were spilled into the Yellow Stone River. MORE

Jan. 23, 2015

Authorities discover three-million-gallon saltwater leak caused by oil pipeline rupture near Blacktail Creek in North Dakota; are taking measures to prevent contaminated water from flowing into the Missouri River. MORE

Jan. 21, 2015

Work crews near Glendive, Mont, are scrambling to vacuum up 50,000 gallons of oil that contaminated drinking water after spilling from ruptured pipeline into Yellowstone River; Gov Steve Bullock declares state of emergency; Bridger Pipeline Company, which operates line, shuts it down; bottled water is being trucked in for affected residents. MORE

Jan. 20, 2015

Drinking water is shipped to Glendive in eastern Montana after city's water supplies were contaminated by oil spill along the Yellowstone River. MORE

Dec. 20, 2014

Environmental Protection Agency announces first federal guidelines for management and disposal of coal ash from power plants to protect water supply; some environmentalists say new regulations are too lax. MORE

Dec. 18, 2014

Federal grand jury indicts four owners and operators of Freedom Industries, which contaminated Elk River in West Virginia with toxic chemical spill in January; spill caused extended cutoff of drinking water to almost 300,000 residents in and near Charleston. MORE

Dec. 11, 2014

Study published in PLoS One estimates that 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic, weighing 269,000 tons, are dispersed throughout world's oceans, even in most remote reaches; researchers cited in study call current methods for managing plastic waste unsustainable from both economic and environmental perspectives. MORE

Nov. 25, 2014

Study published in journal The Proceedings of the Royal Society B reports that tiny, jelly-clad crustaceans known as Holopedium are thriving in some Canadian lakes after years of acid rain have polluted them. MORE

Nov. 24, 2014

Lake Tai, China's third-largest freshwater body, is symbolic of country's inability to solve some of its most egregious environmental problems; government has spent billions of dollars cleaning up lake, but hundreds of factories continue to dump waste into waterways that feed it; environmentalist Wu Lihong has campaigned against pollution of lake for more than decade. MORE

Nov. 18, 2014

Environmental activists are accusing coal company Frasure Creek Mining of doctoring water pollution reports of its Kentucky operations to evade state regulators; disclosure could embarrass state after it had vowed to tighten oversight when activists caught two other coal companies in same scheme in 2010. MORE